


Fly On Your Own

by thewolfraven



Series: There Were Dragons [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Post Hidden World, SPOILERS FOR THE HIDDEN WORLD, still crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 08:58:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18028745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewolfraven/pseuds/thewolfraven
Summary: Hiccup adjusts to life without dragons.





	Fly On Your Own

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been sitting in my folder for literally over a month. I didn’t like it, deleted it, rewrote it. Repeat. Not sure how much I ended up liking this, but I promised a lot of you guys that there would be a third part. So here it is! Hope you enjoy!

Inferno lay silent on the rough cut wooden desk where Hiccup sat alone. He took a moment to fiddle with it before placing it back down. Picked it up again, then dropped it just as quickly. He let out a frustrated groan as he peered over the fire-sword’s schematics, hoping beyond hope that some spark would allow him to solve his current predicament. The sword had been a more than useful weapon on many occasions, and yet here it lay useless and unusable. It had been designed to work with Monstrous Nightmare gel and Hideous Zippleback gas, and yet with the disappearance of the dragons, such supplies were no longer available to him. The village had collected stores of both back on Berk, but when they had fled their home it had been left behind. After all, they had no reason to think they could not collect more. And those stores, if they were still intact after the destruction of the village, would take months of travel by ship to retrieve. Hiccup groaned again: note to self, build ships. Then his second problem: his armour. Made from dragon scale and fireproofed through the use of dragon saliva. Neither of which could be found. And his armour was is desperate need of repair should the need for it arise. He fingered the cool black scales of his armour- the only reminder of his departed friend that had remained with him and felt the stinging of tears behind his eyes. All of it gone: the wingsuit, the map, his sword and armour. All of it pointless now. For what use was a wingsuit and a map when you didn’t have a dragon to explore the world with? What value did his sword and armour hold to him now he was unable to use them? A sob escaped his lips, and Hiccup quickly sucked a gulp of air back desperate to stop the inevitable flow of tears. But they still ran thick and fast down his cheeks, and his pitiful whimpers filled the quiet space of his makeshift tent. A fluttering of the tent flaps, and the presence of a warm body surrounding him drew him back to reality, and he blinked away the tears from his eyes. Astrid. He took a moment to study her face before the tears had once again flooded forth. She was crying to. Astrid, tough as nails and stubborn as a Rumblehorn was crying. They collapsed into each other’s embrace, and for a moment Hiccup could believe that all would be right with the world. That things could go back to the way they were. But they would not. He tried to form a coherent explanation, but found himself overcome and barely able to choke out the words. Astrid stroked his hair gently and held him tighter. “I know”, she said with an unusual softness. And at once Hiccup felt like such a selfish fool. He wasn’t the only one to have lost his best friend.

***

It had taken almost three months to build a ship, sail it back to Berk to salvage what remained, then sail back for New Berk. Hiccup had been right to think that his stores of Nightmare gel and Zippleback gas had been destroyed, most likely set off during the destruction of Berk. But he and the Berkians who had accompanied him had managed to collect shed scales and a few Nadder spines which had been left collecting dust in the stables. Tools from Gobber’s forge had also mostly survived, much to Hiccup’s relief. What had taken them more weeks than Hiccup would liked to have spent was extracting every last piece of Gronkle Iron from the island. It would be impossible to make now, and it was too valuable a resource to leave behind. Hiccup was glad they had used it so freely in reinforcing the village- they had collected enough scrap to fill the boat (thankfully it didn’t sink at the weight of it all) and hopefully enough to last for generations to come if they were careful with it. As New Berk came in to view, Hiccup found himself pacing frantically up and down the deck of the ship. He had left Astrid in charge- as the chieftess of New Berk, it was her right after all and Hiccup knew her to be a more than capable leader. But it had been three months. She had barely been showing when he had left and they had yet to announce her pregnancy to the village, but now it would be obvious to anyone that looked. Was she alright? Was the baby alright? Had something gone wrong? Hiccup’s pacing became all the more frantic. Of course she had Valka and Gothi with her, but even they couldn’t stop something from going wrong if the gods had willed it so. “Oh Thor, let her be alright”, he prayed aloud. Eret son of Eret cast him a questioning look from his position at the helm of the ship, but otherwise remained silent. Then the imposing mass of New Berk appeared on the horizon, and Hiccup’s pacing began anew. New Berk had been a perfect refuge from Grimmel. It was near impossible for ships to enter the winding rivers that wove through the island, and even more difficult to scale the great cliffs to where the village had settled. Near impossible. Viking’s were experts on the workings of a ship, and a similar system of rope and pulleys could be employed to soar up the cliffs. Combine that with a familiarity of flying above the clouds, the Vikings found no issue whatsoever adjusting to the rather unusual setup of the village. It was precarious at the best of times, but that truly was the Viking way of life. Hiccup quickly brushed himself off as he untangled himself from the mess of rope that had lifted him from the rocky seas to the comforting safety of home. Much had changed in the last three months. New buildings lay dotted around the village. Hiccup’s heart ached at the familiar site of dragon’s head figures over the doorway of each home. Some things would not change. He waved a greeting to those he passed as he picked his way through New Berk, and exchanged a few words about the condition of Berk with those interested in its state. He closed his eyes for a moment and pictured the vast dragon stables. The all-you-can-eat fish buffets. The custom made dragon perches. The grooming stations. But most of all he dreamed of the dragons. “Well you took your time!”, a voice cut through his thoughts, and he shook himself quickly back to reality. The dragons might be gone, but Astrid was very much still present. He raced towards her and gathered her in his arms, kissing her hair and breathing a sigh of relief as she returned his affections. To his surprise (although he had been fully aware), he felt a strange roundness of her belly as he hugged her and collapsed to his knees in front of her, staring at the small bump with a mixture of amazement and wonder. He reached out as if to touch it, but stopped himself short, looking at Astrid questioningly. She gave a ringing laugh and took her husband’s hand and pressed it against her belly, smiling contentedly as she did so. “You’re going to be a father”.

***

Many months later (although to Hiccup it felt like years), he found himself again anxiously pacing back and forth, biting his fingernails to the beds with worry. It had been hours since Astrid’s labour pains had begun and he had been long since banished from the room. Occasionally Valka would come out to comfort Hiccup and assure him that all was going well, but each time he had begged to be allowed in she had rather firmly denied the request. And it had been some time since she had last made an appearance. Was something wrong? Was Astrid ok? Was the baby ok? Then shrill cries pierced into the quietness of the night, and Hiccup froze and stared at the door. Laugher and soft cooing could be heard trickling through the door, and it took every last bit of Hiccup’s self control not to burst through the door. Gobber have him a congratulatory slap on the back and grinned wide. Moments later, Valka appeared at the door and waved him inside. Astrid lay on her bed, clearly exhausted but with a soft smile across her face. A bundle of cloth rested by her breast. Hiccup went to kneel beside her, peering curiously at the small bundle. So encapsulated by the miracle of the pudgey, red-faced baby that lay before him, Hiccup failed to acknowledge the murmur of congratulations that filled the room. He grasped Astrid’s hand and squeezed it gently, as if to reassure himself that the world around him was truly real. He gently brushed the soft red-brown hair of the small baby, and for a moment the cries ceased. And for a moment, nothing else existed but the three of them. Together, and as a family.

***

 Toothless had loved night flying, Hiccup reflected as he cast his eyes over the horizon. The sky was stained pink with the setting sun, and the archipelago was quickly falling into darkness. He stood their silently, as if waiting for Toothless to suddenly appear before him. But he would not, and he would never. Hiccup felt tears sting at his eyes again, but before they could fall, he felt a sharp prod in his side and instinctively recoiled. “Come on, Chief”, Astrid teased, bouncing the baby on her hip as she did. “Time to go home”.

**Author's Note:**

> You know how this was supposed to be a three part series? Yeah... about that. While procrastinating about this I kind of wrote another one. It’s only a very short thing, but it should be out soonish? Hopefully. No promises.


End file.
